The Beavers (2-1) figure to shed some light on the answer this week when they host No. 20 California. Oregon State is out to show that a 42-14 defeat at Boise State on Sept. 7 was just a hiccup and that blowouts of overmatched Eastern Washington and Idaho are a better indicator of their prowess. Enter conference play and the Golden Bears, winners of three straight since a season-opening loss at Tennessee. Led by tailback Marshawn Lynch (112 yards per game rushing) and quarterback Nate Longshore (completing 69 percent of his passes), Cal brings the momentum of a 49-21 win over Arizona State. Oregon State's defense returned to form in a 38-0 win over the Vandals Saturday, but coach Mike Riley cautioned against putting too much stock in that win. "There's a tremendous stretch in front of us," he said Tuesday. "Once again this is the biggest game of the week as far as I'm concerned. We'll have a great challenge ahead of us." California embarrassed the Beavers in its last appearance at Reser Stadium -- a 49-7 win in 2004. Oregon State returned the favor last year, beating then-No. 18 Cal 23-20 in Berkeley. Oregon State tailback Yvenson Bernard ran for 194 yards in that game, but this time the Bears might have the X-factor in Lynch, a Heisman Trophy candidate who is averaging 7.2 yards per carry. Receiver DeSean Jackson is tied for first in the nation in receiving touchdowns with six, and Longshore has proven to be a significant upgrade over last year's starter, Joe Ayoob.
"It's a very, very versatile offense," said Oregon State safety Sabby Piscitelli. "They have a great running back (Lynch) and Longshore's stepping up. ... He looks good, he's throwing well, throwing on time." But the Beavers believe the game is mostly about whether they have the toughness to fight through adversity, something they lacked in the Boise State game, when they sat down after the Broncos erased a 14-0 deficit and then kept going.
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